Brushes are a key method of applying effects to an object in Adobe Photoshop. They may be used to add colour, remove colour, replace elements of an image with other areas or simply painting onto sections of an image. Brushes are an import ingredient in your Photoshop life. To master this section the user must first learn the basic brush tool, the others will then become easier to learn as they all adopt the same principle.
1- Brush tool
The basic brush is one of the simplest to use but still the most important. Once the user has mastered this brush the remaining becomes much easier to learn. The user can paint onto an object controlling the opacity, flow and mode of the brush depending on the effect which is required. Photoshop prevents the user from painting onto a type layer. In-order to paint onto a text layer the layer must first be rasterized.
The original brush tool can also be used for masking information. Painting with a black brush will hide image information, painting with a white brush will reveal image information. The process is preferable to the eraser tool. Editing is non destructive, allowing information to be re-edited or deleted if not required.
2- Clone Tool
Used to replace elements of an image with other section from the original image or another. The user will define a source point by using the Alt key. They will paint over the desired area to remove unwanted elements. For best practice clone onto a new blank layer. Ensure sample all layers has been selected in the options bar. To avoid a patchy effect apply the effect in a dabbing motion.
3- Eraser Tool
The most destructive brush tool. Used to permanently remove information from the image. The information can also be gradually removed by reducing the opacity of the brush in the brush options palette.
4- History Brush Tool
Used to paint pre-defined history states onto an image. For example apply levels to an image, record the effect using the ‘create snap shot’ tool. Repeat the process for all other applied colour effects such as hue saturation or levels. To apply the effect select the source for the history brush and paint the effect onto the image were required.
5 – Colour Effect Brush Tools
Includes blur and sharpen tools. The effect is applied using the same principle as the basic brush. Blur tool is used to blur pixel edges ideal for areas of high aliasing. The sharpen tool will sharpen pixel edges.
Used to create basic to complex effects. While using the brush tool the user tends to alter less frequently the hardness of the brush edge. What we do tend to alter is the brush diameter. This can be quickly edited by using the left bracket key to reduce, and the right bracket key to increase size. This principle can be applied regardless of the brush tool being used.